Betrayal: Collection
by Venusvadore
Summary: With the arrival of a strange man, Yuffie is thrown into a world of chaos and confusion as she must find her formal companions and stop the evil that is trying to take wing again.
1. Chapter 1

Fanfic: Betrayal

Chapter 1: A Forgotten day

Venusvadore

_All character and places and blah blah blah are sole property of Square Enix. I make no money from this and I don't own any of it obviously. This applies to all chapters. Pardon my rudeness but everyone knows typing these things are boring._

Yuffie took another turn down the ally. That guy was still following her. She quickly glanced over her shoulder. Yep, definitely still there. She began to walk faster. What was his problem anyway? She didn't even recognize him, and she definitely couldn't recall ever doing anything to upset him. 'Course, I don't always remember the faces of the people I steal from,' she thought, slightly chuckling to herself despite the frightening situation. Luckily, she knew these streets well.

She quickly ducked through another ally that was almost unnoticeable at a glance. It had been a year since the death of Sephiroth, and she had been living in Midgar. Yuffie had always hated Midgar, but she had reasons to stay. She knew she could never go home, after the horrid things her father had done after she had gone with AVALANCHE. She scowled. Footsteps breeched her thoughts. Once again she darted her eyes over her shoulder.

He was still there. A large, intimidating hat covered his eyes while a jacket draped over his frame. The collar of the jacket came up so high that it hid the lower half of his face. Yuffie finally decided she'd had enough. She unexpectedly spun around, flicking out a small knife that had been in the pocket of her jeans. Her brown bangs covered her eyebrows that scowled down at her stalker. "Alright, I don't usually do this, but I'm gonna let you talk since you've been so persistent mister. Do you have a problem, or is there no apparent reason that you're following me?" she said coolly, though she was thoroughly annoyed that this man had gone at such lengths to keep up with her. He had been chasing her for the past hour now. The strange man took a few steps forward and then halted, catching sight of the knife.

"Yuffie Kisaragi?" he asked. Yuffie continued scowling. "Depends on who's lookin'." "I'm afraid that I can't tell who who IS looking," he stated. Yuffie raised an eyebrow. Okaaaaay..."But I think I do have an interesting proposition for you," he said. The man then began digging into the large pocket of his black trench coat. The rustling of paper and the jingling of metal could be heard. Finally, he brought forward an envelope. "Inside this letter is all the information you'll need. My address is also inside, and if you decide you want to do this," he paused, "then go to the address. I'll have someone waiting for you." he tossed the envelope, which slid across the ground. If Yuffie had been confused before, than there were no words for what she was now. "I think you've got the wrong girl. And what makes you think I'll do anything for you anyways?" she spat. But she couldn't help but wonder what was in that letter.

The man rubbed his temples. "I know I don't have the wrong girl, Miss Kisaragi. As for why my company thinks that you'll do anything for us...all I can say is that the rewards will be quite...pleasurable." The last word slid off of his tongue and snaked its way into Yuffie's ears. She liked the sound of that. Though she had been a thief, and lived comfortably in a nice apartment, more Gil was always satisfying, and she had a feeling that this was the "pleasure" that the man was talking about. A smile cracked on her face, no matter how hard she tried to hold it back. "So, what exactly am I supposed to do?" she asked, trying not to sound too exited. The man looked up, only his eyes showing beneath the hat and jacket. "As I said before, it's all in the letter. Contact me if you wish to comply." At that, he began to slowly turn and walk away, though it wasn't two steps before he stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Oh and Yuffie," Yuffie jumped. She had just picked up the letter and it was lying safely in her hand. "This is to be kept quiet. You are being watched, and my men will not hesitate to become violent if things get complicated." Yuffie could tell he was smiling when he said this. How sick was that?

Finally, the man began to walk away. Yuffie's senses then came back her. "Hey, who are you?" she called out, but the man was gone, vanished into the crowd. The girl had thoughts to go after him, but then she remembered the letter in her hand. If this wasn't all a bunch of fluff, than there was really no reason to go after him anyways. The letter would tell her, she figured, and then she reluctantly slid it into her pocket. She didn't think the man would like the idea of her opening it in public, so she decided to wait until she got home. Yuffie shivered at the thought of being watched. After these considerations, she began to jog back down the alleyway, as if nothing had ever happened. Who knows, maybe nothing had...

Yuffie noted that even with the downfall of Shinra, Midgar was still a mess. Things hadn't improved like they were supposed to. Heck, maybe they were even worse. The amount of crimes seemed to have gone up, while the economy went down. She passed a restaurant,"Perfectizimo" as it was called, and noticed that someone was waving her over. Reno. After Yuffie had left AVALANCHE, she had been wandering around Midgar for a while. About a week later, she came across a grubby little bar called "The Booze Shack". She had gone in and found none other than the red-headed Turk himself. He was so drunk that he could hardly recognize Yuffie, and even though Yuffie had always been against Shinra, she had taken an instant liking to him. Soon the two were having lunch together, going to movies, and occasionally Yuffie would drag a wasted Reno home after a rough night. It was strange, Yuffie had always held grudges, but she couldn't seem to hold any resentment toward Reno. His crazy antics just made him too interesting to leave. Plus, how else would the poor guy make it home on Saturday nights?

Yuffie ran over to him and sat down. "Watchya been doin?" he asked, sliding over an unopened can of pop. 'He must have been expecting me," Yuffie thought, 'no way had Reno been intending on drinking something that was caffeine and alcohol free.' Then again, she always did pass by here on Thursday afternoons. "Nothing really. You?" she asked, opening the drink. Reno smiled, raising an eyebrow at the same time. "Heh, well, my boss fired me and then rehired me again," he stated, leaning back against his chair.

Of course. Reno was always loosing his job as sales clerk at a weapon dealer's shop, though he always regained it again. He just knew too much about weapons to be thrown away, even though he did come in an hour late every other day. "You're really pushing it you know," Yuffie laughed, punching his arm. "He's gonna fire you, and fire you good some day." Reno picked up a straw and blew a pre-made spit wad at her. "Well, if he does, I'll just have to kick his-" "Your order sir?" a waiter said, interrupting Reno's rant. Yuffie then realized how nice this restaurant was. She wondered how Reno was going to afford it, though she didn't say so.

Reno mumbled something about "manners" as he picked up his menu. Which was funny to Yuffie because she was currently peeling off a piece of chewed up straw wrapper from her shoulder? Reno gave him his order and then turned to Yuffie"Ya want anything" Yuffie wriggled. If it had been a stranger she would have said"shoot yeah" and ordered the most expensive thing on the menu. But this was Reno, who had a financial situation that, unfortunately, Yuffie knew about. She found a compromise to this. "Yeah, but let me pay for it." Reno shrugged and continued reading the menu. Yuffie wondered if he knew what she was thinking. She picked one of the cheapest things. The waiter thanked them and then hurried off.

Yuffie's thoughts traveled back to the envelope in her pocket. She wanted to read what was inside so bad that she could hardly stand it. She distracted herself by playing with the fork on the table. She noticed some proper looking lady staring at her, and Yuffie made a rather rude hand gesture. The rich woman's eyes grew wide and she quickly stopped looking at the ninja, though now Yuffie was feeling a little self conscious about her low-riding jeans and her shirt that said "I hate Chocobos" on the back. On the front it had a picture of a large bird being cooked in an abnormally small oven.

"Something's on your mind," Reno suddenly said. Yuffie squeaked. For some reason this had startled her. "Nothings on my mind," she said, forcing a smile. Reno kicked her playfully. "Listen, I used to be a Turk, ya think I wouldn't know that something was bothering my best friend when part of my job was to interrogate people. That's almost insulting," he stated, and then he began to pretend cry. Yuffie pulled his ponytail "Why are you here Reno. You don't usually, errrr...eat at...places like this," she said, gesturing at the settings around her. Okay, so it was a rude question, but it was deserving of an answer. "You don't know yet?" he asked, a smile tugging at his lips. Yuffie scowled, crossing her arms. No, she didn't, but she wasn't going to let him know that. "Of course, I was just starting a conversation," Yuffie said, though she knew her excuse just sounded stupid. Reno laughed. "Ok...whatever you say..." he said sneakily. Yuffie squinted her eyes at him. She had a feeling that there was some sickening joke he had planned.

The waiter was soon back, carrying a tray with a cover over it. He bent down and whispered something to Reno, who smiled and took the tray from him. The waiter dashed off. Reno pushed the tray to Yuffie. "For you," he said, bowing. Yuffie stared at the tray. No way was this hers; it was way to big whatever it was. She slowly took off the cover and gasped. A large cake was underneath the metal cap. Chocolate, her favorite. But most importantly were the words dribbled on top in fluffy white and green icing:_ Happy Birthday Yuffie, Nov.20th. _She lifted her head and gaped at Reno. Cakes were expensive in Midgar, Heck, anything with sugar was. It was almost impossible to buy them. He rubbed her shoulder and asked if she was alright. When she didn't reply he just laughed. "Sorry if you were really wanting to eat the..Uhhhh" Reno picked up the menu, "Shrimp Scampi appetizer. But I thought you might like this better anyways. Happy B. Day, Yuffie."

Yuffie jumped up and hugged him"You remembered!" Reno jolted at the unexpected gesture. "Well I had to, I knew you wouldn't. Now, are you going to share it with me?" he asked, prying her arms off of him and picking up his fork. Yuffie laughed. "NO WAY!" she joked, sitting back down. Reno took a sip of whatever he was drinking. "Awww, that really hurt my feelings, ya know," He said, cutting himself a piece. He set it down. "I ought to take a picture of this so Rude will believe me," he said, his mouth fool of chocolate icing. Yuffie saw that woman staring again. "Don't," she laughed, taking in a mouthful herself. "I'm very tempted to," he said.

As soon as they were done, Yuffie had the leftovers boxed so that she could eat them the next day. Reno offered to walk her home and she accepted. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the Booze Shack?" he asked, poking her. "No, that's alright. I'm really not in the mood to take you home tonight," Yuffie said sarcastically. They were on street 671, about five minutes away from Yuffie's apartment complex. "Are you cold? Do you want my jacket?" Reno offered. Yuffie noticed she was shivering. "No, I'm fine." She blushed. Reno was being really nice tonight. That wouldn't last long though. Soon he was shoving his jacket over her head as rudely as he could, and Yuffie had to refrain from pulling a few shinobi techniques on him. "Come on, Yuffie, Ya know ya want it," he said in a playfully, strange, sexy voice. "Would you quit harassing me? I'm not three years old, I know what you're talking about, ya know," she laughed, "And besides, no woman in their right mind would" "Well, here we are" Reno interrupted. Yuffie untied his jacket from herself with some difficulty, (he had somehow managed to wrap the sleeves in a knot around her).

She handed it back to him. "Thanks Reno. Thanks for the soda, the cake, for walking me home...for the jacket," she said. The last one was added reluctantly. "No problem," Reno said, slipping it on. "Look what you did, the arms are all stretched out," he whined. Yuffie smacked him on the head. "Well, I'm going to bed, goodnight" she said, starting up the stairs. Reno told her goodnight as well and then headed off down the street, whistling a strange tune that sounded like it had come off of some game show. Yuffie shook her head. He was a character. She opened her door and then went inside. She couldn't wait to get into that letter...

_Phew, the first chapter of my first fanfic. Hope it went alright. If anyone has any suggestions or wants to point out something I've forgotten, please do so. It will be greatly appreciated. Thanx!_

_Venusvadore_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Thoughts of Lard and Letters

Yuffie plopped down on the bed. Her fingers were shaking with anticipation. She quickly ripped the envelope in half, careful of the contents. A small key chain with the Shinra emblem fell out. She also shook out a piece of paper. She tried not to get too exited when she finally unfolded it. It read:

_To Miss Kisaragi,_

_We at the J/S Corporation are aware of your abilities as a ninja and request your cooperation. This job has one goal: to steal. We realize that your abilities as a ninja give you great agility and stealth. We need you to steal an item for us, Miss Kisaragi. This item is very rare and is heavily guarded at the Midgar National Museum. More information will be given as soon as we know that you can be trusted. The reward for this project is 1,000,000 Gil, though if you need anything for your mission we will gladly pay for it._

_If you choose to accept this mission, go to the address on the bottom of the letter. Be there at 6:30 sharp on November 21. Thank you for your time, Miss Kisaragi._

_President of J/S Co._

Yuffie blew out a small puff of air. 1,000,000 Gil! That was a ridiculously large amount. She could almost see herself buying everything there was to buy. Shoes, TV, computer, ahh...and she could eat cake every day. But this sounded like a hard job. Yuffie wouldn't admit it, but she wondered if she was good enough. The Midgar National Museum! That place was guarded top notch. But then again, whoever these people were had offered to give her the equipment that she needed. "Hmmm..." she pondered aloud. Tomorrow, she had to work tomorrow, and her boss wasn't exactly lenient when it came to getting days off. She thought of ways she could convince him. Yuffie yawned. It was no use worrying now. She looked at the clock. 1:00. She needed to get to sleep. She pulled the covers back on her queen sized bed and slid beneath them. Thoughts of riches danced in her dreams, and she slept well that night.

_Beep Beep Beep!_ Yuffie groaned. "Stupid alarm clock," she grumbled, smashing the off button with her fist. She slid her feet out of her bed and got up slowly. She noticed that she had slept in her clothes. She smoothed out her jeans with her hands. She stumbled into the kitchen and grabbed a banana. She quickly ate it, and then headed into the bathroom for a shower. When she was done, she dressed into a pair of khaki cargo jeans and a gray T-shirt that was embroidered with small black flowers and butterflies. She slipped on some tabi socks and then put her flip-flops on over them. She also put a black and gray toboggan on her head that was lettered with the words "Aerocore." She always wore this hat when she wasn't intending to dry her hair. She then brushed her teeth, left the apartment, and was on her way to work.

On Fridays, Yuffie worked at a fast food joint called "Hamburger Heaven" To Yuffie, the restaurant smelled like crap and the food was too greasy and the bathrooms were horrible, but the place got good business. The food was cheap, and so were a lot of the customers. If Yuffie didn't work there, she would have never ever eaten any of their products. But it wasn't so bad once you got used to it.

She was surprised when she got a small static shock from behind that what strong enough to make her hair stand on end. She turned around to find Reno, holding out his electric nightstick. "Wakey Wakey." he said, poking her again. Yuffie growled and then tackled him. He didn't look so awake himself, and Yuffie wondered if he had gone to the Booze Shack without her last night. Reno got up from the sidewalk and dusted off. "Man, you sure can be touchy." he drawled, rubbing his head. Yes, he definitely had been drinking. He had that thick "I'm having a hangover" voice.

Yuffie helped dust off of his back. Reno groaned. "I don't wanna go to work," he told her, beginning to walk forward. Yuffie smiled "You never want to go to work," she informed him, knowing it was the truth,"If you wouldn't stay up so late and drink so much, things would be different." Reno scowled. "If I drank only water and went to bed at eight, it wouldn't change the fact that work bites." Yuffie laughed. "Well, here's my stop. Gotta go. Bye," she said happily, hopping up the steps. Reno shook his head. He wondered why she was so happy.

As soon as Yuffie went inside, she was greeted by a large sinister looking man who towered above her petite figure. "YOU'RE LATE!" he growled in a large, scratchy voice. Yuffie shrugged and walked past him, tying an apron around her waist. "I know boss. Ran into to trouble on the way. Some drunks thought it would be funny to try and electrocute me," she explained. Well, it wasn't totally untrue. Her boss sniffed, trying to figure out if she was lying or not. "Just get to work," he finally said in a tired voice. Yuffie headed toward the deep fryer. Now wasn't really the time to ask him about leaving work early. She would wait until later, when things had cooled down a bit.

She dipped french-fries in and out of the nasty grease. She wondered how long the fat had been in there. She put on a pained expression and wrinkled her nose at the thought. Oh well, it wasn't like SHE was eating it. Someone called out an order to her and she quickly dropped the potato strips into a box and handed them over to Janakah, the other unfortunate worker at this place. Janakah also pinched her nose, and she winked at Yuffie. She didn't even bother to stop showing her disgust as she handed it through the window. Yuffie snorted. She really liked Janakah, she never did hide how she felt. She kind of reminded Yuffie of...well, herself actually. Except Janakah could do a lot more because the boss fancied her. She turned around to Yuffie once again and placed her hands on her hips.

"You'd think that after them seeing the look on your face that they would quit buying the accursed food," Yuffie laughed, dumping more fries in. Janakah shook her head. "Everyone who comes here is too stupid to tell that the food is disgusting. I've worked here for three years, I should know." Yuffie shrugged. She yelped as a spurt of grease burned her arm. She began to bang on the machine with her spatula. "It never fails does it! You've always been against me! Can't I go one day without getting burned! I'll show you, you ugly-" Yuffie stopped her rage at the stove when she saw the boss peeking out from behind the counter. He was always spying on her, just waiting for an excuse to yell. Yuffie grabbed a rag and pretended to be cleaning a spot of grease. It worked, the boss retracted his head.

"Oh boy, lookie at what we have here, my favorite customer," Janakah drawled sarcastically. Palmer could be seen at the window, a piggish look on his face. "I thought he died," Yuffie said in amazement. "Unfortunately he didn't," Janakah sighed, and then she approached the window. "Hello Palmer, what may I do for you today?" Palmer licked his finger and put it to the air. Janakah rolled her eyes. "I'd like a double Cheeseburger please...WITH LOTS OF LARD!" he suddenly added, almost jumping out of his seat. Janakah rubbed her head. "How many times do I have to tell you Palmer, Cheeseburgers don't come with lard." Palmer leaned out the window. "I'm sure you can manage," he said, a sly smile on his face. Janakah typed something in the register. "Need one double cheeseburger-" "DON'T FORGET THE-" "with lots of lard," She said, running her fingers through her hair. Palmer clapped his hands in excitement. Janakah handed him the bag. As soon as he drove away, she mumbled something about "Shinra idiots."

Yuffie laughed. After that episode, work was pretty uneventful. Soon Yuffie caught sight of the clock on the wall. "Janakah, I was wondering if I could ask you a favor?" she said, wiping her hands on her apron. Janakah turned to her. "Depends on what it is." Yuffe kicked a paper plate that was lying in the floor. "I need you to ask the boss if I can get out of here by 6:00." The clock on read 5:47, and Yuffie would have to walk to her destination on the letter. Janakah stared at her. "He'll listen to you. Come on, Pleeeaaassee?"

Janakah raised an eyebrow, and then got a smug look on her face. "Have you and Reno hooked up?" she asked. "What? Oh, uhhh...yeah sure, whatever..." Yuffie lied. This may be her chance. Janakah was a sucker for romance. "Is he taking you somewhere?" Yuffie decided to play along. "Oh yes! To a nice restaurant called the errr..Perfectizimo," she said, recalling the name of the restaurant that she had gone to last night. Janakah snapped her fingers. "I'll see what I can do," she cooed, and then she hurried off.

Yuffie inwardly sighed. It was almost painfully easy to manipulate people sometimes, especially if you knew what they liked. Five minutes later She was back, a grin as wide as the moon on her face. "He says you can go now if you'd like." Yuffie pulled off her apron and hung it on the wall. "Thanks bunches, Janakah," she said, and she walked out into the main part of the restaurant. Janakah stayed at the counter watching her, and finally yelled "You go get him, Yuffie. Make 'im scream for more!" Yuffie spun around, an embarrassed look on her face. Everyone in the restaurant was looking at her. Suddenly, all of the female customers started cheering. Yuffie hid her face in her hands and slid out the door. She could hear Janakah laughing and singing "Naughty Girl" as she walked out. But even through this ordeal, Yuffie couldn't help but laugh. Even though it was embarrassing, she guessed it was pretty funny.

She began to worry though. What if Reno went in there and Janakah...Yikes! Yuffie pushed the thoughts out of her head. She guessed that she would just have to tell the poor guy later. If it wasn't so dang humiliating it would be easier. She pulled out the wadded sheet from her letter and unfolded it. The tiny address was handwritten on the bottom in navy blue ink. Not really an address, it was more like one-lined directions. _Old Building next to Shinra ruins, painted red, door slightly rusted. _

Well, Yuffie knew where that was. However, you couldn't really call it "ruins" considering nothing was left of the Shinra building. It had been plowed down by the bulldozers of those who hated them bad enough to get joy out of totaling the last bit of their building. Yuffie had even joined in the fun for a bit. She ended up snatching a few gold doorknobs before the place was totally wrecked. They were laying in her underwear drawer right now as a matter of fact. Now the site of the once up hailed Shinra Corp. was simply a large, flat, muddy field with a few metal beams jarring out of the ground every now and then. In fact she was approaching it now. Dotted with no trespassing signs, a fence surrounded it. Yuffie walked along side of it until she found a building that matched the description she had been given.

Yuffie looked at her watch. 6:27. She had just made it. For a while she just stood outside of the buildings door, wondering if she should go in three minutes early or not. Finally, she stepped up and tapped on the door with her knuckle. It opened to reveal the man with the hat standing behind it. "Oh, Yuffie, come in, come in."

Yuffie had a bad feeling about this. As junky as the office was outside, it seemed to almost glow with cleanliness on the inside. The floor was gray marble while the walls were covered with a strange black fabric. Grey granite pillars were scattered about. Many people were bustling around, their arms full of papers and documents. "What is this place?" Yuffie asked, touching one of the pillars. The jacket man tapped his foot. "You're wasting my time, Miss Kisaragi. As I said before, I cannot tell you what this place is. You can ask the President if you wish to know. However, I wouldn't advise it," he said, walking in a quick pace to the elevator. Yuffie followed him.

"Well, can I at least know your name?" she asked. The man sighed. "Now what do you think the answer to that question is Miss Kisaragi. I'm sure if you use your brain for once, you will be able to figure it out." Yuffie was about to call him some very unsanitary names when she was interrupted by the opening of an elevator door. Jacket man moved out of the way so that she could go in first. He stepped in right behind her.

They were scrunched in right next to a man who was bent crooked with a long black ponytail and glasses. He was quiet old, yet somehow a strange, insane aura seemed to radiate about him. Yuffie gasped. Now she finally recognized him. This man...was Hojo.

_Tabi are Japanese socks for anyone who didn't know. Oh, and Naughty Girl belongs to Beyonce, and for those who are wondering, no, I usually don't listen to that kind of music. Rock will always hold a special place in my heart._

_ Venusvadore_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Putting something broken back into order again.

_Currently, this land is scattered,_

_When one feels out of there element, it isn't hard to be mistreated._

_The best thing to do is to hold on to the enigma,_

_and to observe with watchful eyes._

_Enigma, by Venusvadore_

Hojo turned around and stared daggers at Yuffie, who was having trouble breathing. Hojo was dead..dead, dead, dead. But he was standing right there, his arms full of papers. Jacket man nudged her shoulder. "Are you alright?" he said slyly, almost as if he knew what was going on through Yuffie's brain. All Yuffie could do was stutter and point fingers.

"Ho..Hoj...Ho..." she said, swallowing hard. Soon the door to the elevator opened, and with one last scowl, Hojo sauntered off.

The doors then closed, and the elevator began to travel upwards again. "I hope you do a little better in front of the President," Jacket man spat, grabbing Yuffie's wrist and pulling her out into a hallway when the doors opened again. Yuffie felt like her stomache was full of some kind of heavy liquid. Hojo...but how? She wondered what they were going to do with her. What if they kept her and experimented on her, until her hair turned white like Sephiroth's or her eyes gleamed red like Vincent's. She shivered. Vincent. Had he feared Hojo this way? She felt so sorry for him. She understood him a bit better now, actually getting to see Hojo up close was terrifying, especially after hearing about all of the horrible things he had done. Yuffie stiffened a bit. She knew she had to be brave, just like Vincent. Or at least hide that she was scared...

It seemed too soon that they were at the door to the President's office. Jacket man took his firm grip off of Yuffie, and then quickly opened the door and shoved her in. Yuffie fell onto her knees, turning around and scowling at him. She had a few choice words for this man as soon as she was out of the domain of this sinister "President".

"She's here," Jacket man said, giving a curt bow. Yuffie didn't see anyone in the room, which was totally white except for the black chair and desk in the back of the large office. The chair's back was turned to her. Ohhh...Yuffie understood now. The President was behind that chair. A gloved hand waved out from behind it, apparently dismissing Jacket man, because he left immediatly. Yuffie wished he had stayed, no matter how harsh he was, no matter if he was a friend or foe. All she knew was that she didn't want to be in the same room with this...person, whoever it might be.

The chair slowly began to turn around. What Yuffie expected, god or demon, human or monster, caused her to hold her breath. She was however, relieved and slightly dissapointed,(mostly surprised), to find Elena, the female former turk, perched in that chair, legs crossed. She had a grim smile on her face. Yuffie finally took in a breath and sighed in relief. She almost laughed. "Oh, it's only you," she said giggling. Elena scowled.

"And what is "only me" Yuffie? What do you mean by that phrase?" she spat. Yuffie laughed harder. "I mean, it's you. Not Sephiroth, not Rufus Shinra, but _you,_" Yuffie looked back at the way she had been acting before, so scared. It just seemed stupid now. Elena, a president. imagine that. The weak Turk, no way

"Oh Yuffie, you've just made the biggest mistake of your life" Elena said, standing up "Your mistake is the same one everyone has made. Oh there's Elena, second best, the weakest. Well, I'll show you, I'll show everyone."

Yuffie had to keep from laughing, because her statement was exactly right. Everyone had always spoke of the Turks in hushed whispers. They were the feared guards of the Shinra legacy, who would kill anyone at whim. But when it came to Elena...well, she just didn't live up to the title as well as the others. In fact, Yuffie could recall the other day, an argument made by some kids in the slums. "I'll be Rufus" had said the kid in the brown hat. "Then I'll be Rude, John can be Reno." A little girl had stood up. "Then who can I be?" she asked. "How 'bout Tseng." The little girl had jumped up and down. "NO WAY! He's dead." "Fine, be Elena then." The girl had sat back down. "...can we pretend Tseng's alive"

It was almost pathetic. Elena was so small in frame, and couldn't really do much, let alone be accepted by the public. Yuffie turned around and began to walk out of the room. "Well, I'm leaving, seeing as there is nothing really all that important keeping me here." Elena stomped her foot. "Don't you turn your back on me!" she yelled.

Yuffe spun around in a cool manner. "And who's gonna stop me, huh?" she said. She liked playing with Elena's nerves. She was waaay to easy to manipulate. Yuffie wondered if the tobogan she was wearing was going to her head. She always felt pretty cool while wearing it, especially with those head -"Ugh" Yuffie tried to breath as hands had incirled her neck. Elena was watching this, a smug look on her face. "Some ninja you are. Am I supposed to be impressed?"

Yuffie twisted her head around a bit. Her gaze fell on Jacket man. He then loosened his grip, but he didn't let go completly. "Now, let's make matters more serious. Your life is in my hands Yuffie. I want to know. Where are the other former members of AVALANCHE?" Yuffie struggled at trying to get loose, but every move she made caused Jacket man to firm his grip on her just a little harder...

"Why do you want to-"

"ANSWER my question" Elena demanded. Yuffie didn't wait. "I don't have any idea OK? You're asking the wrong person." Yuffie shuffled her feet. She thought about how her greed had gotten her into this mess. She should have been sensible and been more persistant in asking the Jacket man questions. She felt she was a shame to all ninja everywhere. She stared down at her flip-flops. There had to be a way to get out of this. Elena was never that smart, at least, not as smart as Reno. Reno...if she stayed, he would probably come looking for her. Yuffie didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I think you are lying to me Yuffie, I'm going to ask again. Where are the other former members of AVALANCHE?" Elena was looking thouroghly peeved. Yuffie gave a weak sigh. She cussed quietly. "I have NO freakin' idea! I thought I made that clear already!" The moment those words came out of her mouth, she regretted them. Elena gave her a twisted look, and then snapped her fingers. Instantly Jacket man's hand came flying down onto the back of Yuffies head. Only it couldn't have been his hand, it was hard and metal-like, probably a handgun. She heard Elena say something about how she wasn't going to deal with this, and to take Yuffie to the labs for holding until they figured something out. Yuffie cursed as the room seemed to spin out of control, and then collapsed on the soft, white carpet of the office.

When Yuffie awoke, the first thing she noticed was a terrible headache. She could feel warm liquid running down her neck. She grabbed her taboggan and peeled it off carefully. Her hair on the back of her head was soaked with the crimson liquid, and she didn't want to touch it. The light hurt her eyes, and she tried to remember where she was.

Everything about the room was metal. Metal floors, metal walls, ceiling, fan, and a big metal door with no handle and only a small window to tie it all together. The room was no bigger than a closet, and it looked like something you would see in an insane assylum. A small sorce of light was twinkling down from a lone bulb on the ceiling. Yuffie desperatly tried to remember what happened, but she felt slightly high and giddy, and the only thing she could think about was how ruined her hat was. She was sitting on the floor, someone had placed a few handcuffs on her that attached her hands to a steel loop. She quickly slipped out of these, she had always been good at escaping things of these sorts.

Now to remember what happened...Flashes of Elena and Jacket man came back, and Yuffie suddenly recalled some of the President's last words. "Take Miss Kisaragi to the labs for holding until I figure something out." Yuffie withdrew her knees. Well, Elena had turned out tougher than she had ever thought. Maybe not strength wise, but in polotics, it looked like she held power. Yuffie had a feeling that this wasn't a good thing for her. She smiled grimly, and then stuck her hat in the oversized pocket on her cargo jeans.

It made Yuffie angry that she didn't know what was going to happen. She had always hated suspense, and by being the great ninja that she was, usually didn't have to endure it because she always knew when something was coming. But this time around, the tables were turned. Her allies weren't there to help her if things got rough, and her fate was held in the incompetant hands of a former Turk that had a lot of men to just throw around.

She figured they'd come and torture information out of her. She wondered why they just didn't go look for Cloud and everyone themselves. Yuffie then tried to get up, resulting in her head pounding and the room spinning again. She quickly sat back down. She was clearly in worse shape than she thought. Reluctantly, Yuffie placed her hand on the wound on her head. It seered with pain and seemed to throb beneath her fingers. She felt a knot so big that she was certain that one could probably see it despite her thick brown hair. This was slightly disturbing...

She waited for the longest time it seemed, not moving in fear of losing consciousness. A few times she yelled for someone to come and get her, and when they didn't she cursed them louder than she had called for them. Now the giddiness was over and Yuffie felt nothing but anger and an extreme annoyance. She couldn't sleep even if she wanted to, the tensions were way too high. Plus she was afraid that the Jacket man would come back for a second go-round, and he would obviously attack her in her sleep since he had already hit her from behind. 'That man has no sense of honor,' Yuffie thought grimly. That would make him a worthy enemy. Those who didn't care how they won were always the most crooked and cunning.

A sudden creak as the door opened startled her. Yuffie had thoughts to run past whoever was in the doorway. To push them out of the way and run as fast as she could. But it wasn't likely she would make it two steps. The person at the door was Hojo. Two guards were standing with him, shotguns in hand. When one of the men stepped forward, Yuffie cussed him and smashed her fist on the floor. The man howled in laughter. Yuffie dug her hand in her pocket. The knife was gone, someone had taken it. At her shock the man laughed harder, and then he finally approached her all of the way, grabbing her arm and pulling her up to her feet.

At first the sensation was akward. Yuffie felt like she was swaying, but soon her vision cleared and she could stand up staight. She tried to pull away from her captor, but then the other guard tried to take her free arm. Yuffe slung it back and dug her wristbone under his unprotected chin, the only part of him that armor didn't cover. He staggered back but soon regained his balance, taking Yuffie's arm angrily in his oversized hand.

Yuffie then tried to bite him, but was suddenly cut short when the other man jammed his elbow into her stomache. She fell slightly limp by then, but didn't stop calling them filthy names under her breath. "You're really out of practice aren't you?" Hojo smirked, brushing a few greasy strands of his messy hair behind his ear.

"Come. You know Rayce doesn't like waiting, and neither do I. I have work to finish." Yuffie scowled. She would have spit at him if her mouth hadn't been so dry. She realized that she hadn't had anything to drink for a long time. The guards then began to drag her out, Hojo barking directions at them. Soon Hojo had gone, and it was only the two grim men tugging Yuffie down the hall.

They came to a glass window. Hat man could be seen sitting inside. One of the guards pulled out a set of keys and twisted them in the lock on the door. When that was done, they came inside and sat Yuffie in a chair, quickly restraining her to her chair with chains. Yuffie's head hurt too much to resist

Then the men left, locking the door behind them. Yuffie raised her head. "We really have to stop meeting like this," she choked out, grinning slightly. She knew that one of the best things to do when planning an escape was to get the enemy to be comfortable around you, to drop their guard. She knew that Jacket man, now known as Rayce, was probably not going to be easy to fool, but it was worth a try.

"Let's just get down to the point. I don't like you, and I hate interrogating people, so I'm going to keep this short. See this button here," Rayce said, pointing at a big red button embedded in the wood of the desk. "Everytime you do not answer my questions or give me a rude remark, I will press this button Miss Kisaragi, and you will get the shock of your life...literally." Yuffie gulped. Rayce was very agitated. Yuffie decided it best not to play with his short patience this time. She would try to answer his questions, and if she didn't know them, she would lie.

"First off, where are the members of AVALANCHE?" Yuffie sighed. Didn't these people ever think about anything else. Rayce tapped his foot. "I don't know. I would have thought that Tifa and Cloud would be somewhere in Midgar, but everyone else..." she hung her head. Rayce leaned back in his chair. "Oh really," he said, his hand sliding toward the button. Yuffie shut her eyes and cursed, bracing herself. The electricity raged through her body, causing her to reel backwards. The shock seemed to last forever, and every one of her limbs jumped and jolted in pain. When it stoped, Yuffie was breathing hard. Rayce played his fingers across the control, waiting for Yuffie to answer. "I don't know ok..." she said weakly,"can you please just ask another question?" Rayce snickered.

"Alright. But it will come back to this in the end" he said.

Yuffie nodded. She had to be strong, she knew that the shock she had just recieved was not going to be the last. "By order of the lady, next question. Have you done anything that could possibly prevent the arise of a new government?" Yuffie glared. What a stupid question. What was she, the Mayor of Midgar?

"What do you think" she said annoyed, and once again she regretted opening her big fat mouth. Rayce pushed the button again. Maybe Yuffie imagined it, but it seemed that he held it down longer than last time. "You..seem to be...enjoying...yourself," she huffed. She tryed to hold back tears. Her body felt like it had been filled with boiling water, dumped in ice, and then injected with acid. "Oh yes!" Rayce laughed,"I thought I'd be bored, but for some odd reason I'm really anticipating asking the next question."

Yuffie wanted to cuss him so badly, but she didn't think she could endure one more shock. "This is the last question, but I'll be back tomarrow for more information. Elena's puny brain apparently couldn't come up with addaquate questions for the person we went through so much trouble to catch," Rayce smiled wryly.

Yuffie's ears perked at the statement. His dislike for Elena may work to her advantage, but that would have to wait until later. Later as in, as soon as she was out of this desperate situation. "Is there anyone that you have any attachments to outside. After all, we don't want them coming here for you and getting hurt now do we?" Yuffie was puzzled.

Rayce's statement almost implied that she not answer the question. Strange. Yuffie quickly thought up lie that would probably hurt her later, but keep her friends safe for now. "All of my friends were in AVALANCHE." she said simply. Rayce nodded and muttered another,"I see," and then waved to the guards standing outside. They came in, and then Rayce signaled them to stop. He turned and smashed the button quickly one more time out of spite, and then brusqly left the room.

The guards snapped off the the chains from Yuffie's wrists, which she guessed had probably somehow delivered the electric charge. She let the two men drag her into the same lab/prison room as before, and then she watched silently as they shut the door...without a fight, without a word. Whatever she had expected of Rayce, passion, mercy, he hadn't given it. She thought that maybe after hinting her off about not saying who her friends were, he was going to somehow be kind and gentle to her. Her face scruched up in anger. He apparantly was trying to get her worked up, to play with her emotions. Yuffie knew she couldn't let that happen. She had to keep her wits about her.

She had to admit to herself, however, that Rayce was pretty cool. He really knew how to set people up and knock 'em down. For a moment, Yuffie was almost pleased at her interragator, but then she realized what she was thinking and snapped out of it. It was not good, appreciating the enemy. Still...if cercumstances had been different...Yuffie tried to stay awake as long as she could, but the electricity had seemed to suck all of her energy from her. Soon she was nodding off, all leaned up against the wall. The white corner of the envelope potruded from her pocket.

Yuffie was pulled roughly to her feet. She was still groggy. It was once of the guards again. Yuffie wiped her eyes. He let her catch her balance. Yuffie decided to really shut her mouth this time, seeing as opening it hadn't done her any good so far. As soon as she was standing straight, the guard yanked her into the hall and then turned the opposite way from the interragation room. Yuffie couldn't help but wonder where they were going. He then opened the door to a room covered in white tile. Marching Yuffie over to a shower, he released her hand and then sat down on a bench near her. Yuffie blinked at him. "The President wants you to get cleaned up before the meeting we're having," he explained in a gruff voice. Yuffie tapped her foot.

"So," she said.

"So what?"

Yuffie sighed impatiently. "So leave. I'm not taking my clothes off with you standing there, no matter what Elena says. I still have my dygnity," she huffed, crossing her arms. The guard shrugged and then got up and left. He called over his shoulder that he would be waiting outside of the door. Yuffie thought about trying to escape, but she knew a shower would do her good. Plus she didn' feel like jumping out any windows at this moment.

She tied a robe that was hanging on the shower door around her. Someone had taken the laundry hamper that she had dropped her clothes in. The guard soon opened the door. "Come on" he said, opening it wider. Yuffie shook her head violently.

"I am NOT going out there in a robe" she insisted, stamping her foot. The guard muttered, "I'll see what I can do," and then said a few things into his walkie talkie. Soon a maid had come down with some clothes, denim jeans and a white T-shirt, along with underthings.

"Ahem," Yuffie signaled, and the man once again closed the door and waited outside. She slipped on the clothes and wondered what Elena wanted now. She also wondered where her hat was. She couldn't help but worry about it. After all, it was her favorite hat, She'd had it for years, and for it to be taken away so quickly...Yuffie's ridiculous thoughts were inturrupted by the guard opening the door and finally loosing his patience and shouting at her for not hurrying. Yuffe quickly ran up to him and allowed him to grab her wrists and pull her out into the hall. Yuffie sighed. Here we go again. But truthfully she had no idea what she was headed for.

_OK, I'm sorry, but this thing will not let me indent paragraphs. I've tried sighs So I'll just continue without it,(Plz don't be mad! Believe me, I've done as much as I can to get rid of any grammatical errors, I don't even have a spellchecking device so I have to email this to friends to check it for me. That reminds me, I thank Andreaka for spellchecking the last chapter and this one also). So anyways, I just wanna warn you that this fanfic is probably going to be pretty long, and I really don't know where it is going exactly. Thanks for reading. _(-)

_Venusvadore_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

_Yipee! The fourth chapter! This is so cool! If you haven't guessed by now, this is the first thing I've ever posted on the net. So have mercy, I know it's a little late to be asking that, but still...anyways, some abstract thoughts,(That basically means I'm gonna babble on). Reno is probably not going to be a main character in this story, simply because I don't want to mess him up, he's my favorite Final Fantasy char. Also, that poem on the last chapter was definately not my best work, lol. It was typed last minute because the other poem I had was irrelevant to the chapter. Hopefully I will make better poetry in the future. So plz don't judge by that! In other news, I drew a Reno picture! Lol. I got carried away and drew beer bottles in his pant's cuffs. Ahh well...It suits him I guess. Thanx again for reading._

_Venusvadore,(who loves spelling thanks with a x)_

Yuffie was pulled back into the elevator and back into the same office as before. Though there seemed to be a lot more tension this time. Rayce was slumping in a corner while Hojo was pacing by the window. Elena was once again in her chair, wearing a black business outfit. A few secretaries were also wandering around, occasionally whispering to each other or to Rayce. The guard shut the door, and then quickly regripped Yuffies shoulders. The ninja made a face.

"So Yuffie, refusing to ask my questions?"

Yuffie stared at Elena. "Not refusing. You can't refuse when you don't know the answers." Rayce snorted when Elena turned red with anger. Apparently she was not used to things not going her way. She glared at him also.

"Well, then I will ask you. Answer these with thought...for your own sake," she said, flicking dirt off of her shoulder. Yuffie knew she wasn't going to answer one of them. Elena didn't have that gruesome electracuting machine, so she just really didn't have the motivation. "Where's my hat," Yuffie demanded.

"Of all the things you could be worrying about right now, it's a hat. Let me make this easier for you Elena," Rayce suddenly spoke up, and then he opened up the door to the office. "You're free to go, Miss Kisaragi." The reaction in the room was enormous. One of the secretaries spat out his coffee, while another dropped all of her papers. Hojo suddenly stopped his pacing, and then smiled dryly at Rayce. Elena opened her mouth to speak, but Rayce lifted his hand. "You're free to go," he repeated.

Yuffie rubbed her ears. Had she heard correctly? He did say it twice...She didn't fully believe him until the guard released his grip on her. 'It's a trick,' she told herself, 'One they were going to regret.' She ran out the door as fast as she could, expecting something, anything. But no one stopped her. She ran down the hall, stopping only at the elevator, and then raced out of the building. She stopped at the pay phone, her head pounding and her mouth dry. They hadn't stopped her...why? Yuffie thought that maybe they had caught someone who was willing to talk. But that didn't seem right. They still wouldn't have let her go even if they had. It was definately a confusing matter.

"Why did you do that!" Elena yelled. "I can't believe you let her! You stopped the guards! YOU IDIOT! You incompetent-"

"Now, now, Elena, it's all a part of my plan," Rayce said calmly. He brushed off his coat. A strange smile danced on his face. He knew he could control whatever Elena did. She trusted him, and that would be her downfall. "That girl is sure to go back and warn AVALANCHE of this. What else would they do but come here?" he asked, still thinking about how ignorant Elena was. "Oh yeah! And what if she doesn't?" Elena spat angrily, standing up so quickly that her chair spun. Rayce's smile grew wider. In a mocking voice, he informed her,"Oh don't worry, M'lady. I've made sure that she will."

Yuffie grabbed up the pay phone, her fingers shaking. She dialed Reno's number. When his voice came on the phone, she was very relieved. She had been worried this whole time. She had thought that maybe those people had come after him. She said hello, perhaps a bit too nervously. "Yuffie, where have you been?" Yuffie opened her mouth to tell him, but suddenly looked up and saw a dark figure looking down on her from the roof of the gas station. The figure was not trying to hide, instead it looked more like it was trying to show her it's prescence. She emmidietly clamped her mouth shut, holding the phone so tight that she soon feared she might break it.

"Yuffie, are you OK? Answer me!"

"Reno...I need you to tell my boss that I'm not gonna be coming to work. Get your stuff out of my apartment, but do it about a month from now," she hissed into the phone.

"What's going on?"

"Just do it please. Don't ask any more questions."

"But-"

"Gawd! Just don't! Please! Just do what I say for once. I don't know what's going on. I don't know when I'll be back. Don't come looking for me!" Yuffie slammed the phone down and looked up. The figure was out of sight, but most likely not gone for good. She took a sprint down the sidewalk, darting in and out of alleys just like on the day that she had first saw Rayce. She didn't know where she was going, It was rather just instincts taking her.

Yuffie knew she couldn't go home. She knew that she had to find Cloud. She had to find everyone, for that matter. They may be in danger. But where to start. She concluded that the figure she had saw on the roof was probably following her to find AVALANCHE. 'Whatever I do I gotta do secret,' she thought. She let a real smile crack on her face. At least something was going to come easy. Sneaking around was as simple for her as going to the post office. Yuffie tugged at her white T-shirt. It was cold, sometime around midday. Some gray clouds were rolling in, indicaters of a storm.

She knew that if she wasn't going home, it would be best to find shelter from the possible storm. She shivered. It'd been a long time since she had slept outside, and it had never appealed to her. When she spotted a small shop with a roofed patio up ahead, she was quite relieved. She darted under it, shivering because the rain had just started falling down.

Yuffie felt slightly embarassed, considering she was wet and was wearing a white T-shirt. She rapped her arms tightly around herself, and allowed herself to breath normally again. She wondered if anyone was still following her. She felt too tired to open her eyes. The ninja settled down on a bench that was sitting right next to the entrance of the store. Pulling her knees to her chest, she tried to stay as warm as she could. No one really noticed her, everyone was too busy trying to escape the torrent of rain.

It wasn't long before someone was nudging her awake. Yuffie slowly opened her eyes to find a rather elderly lady standing over her. Her hair was slightly gray, and her eyes were old and kind. When Yuffie finally sat up, the woman smiled. "Now dearest, it's a bit too cold and wet to be outside don't you think? My house is in this store, would you like to stay, at least until the rain has passed?"

Yuffie suddenly jumped up and looked around. The old woman took a few steps back, a worried expression on her face. When Yuffie didn't see anyone, she was relieved and felt it would be okay to accept the woman's kind offer. She nodded to the elderly lady, who emmediently took her arm and pulled her inside. Normally Yuffie would have been discusted and slightly offended of this, but she remembered she was getting a kind favor, and kept her mouth shut.

"In the bathroom there are some clothes that I usually save for people who get caught in the rain. I think you'll find something that will fit you. Just put your wet clothes on the floor, and I'll wash and dry them later."

Yuffie muttered a thank you, and then walked slowly in the bathroom. When inside, she locked the door and stared at the floor for a long time. It was almost surreal, how she had escaped that building. She worried about Reno, and knew that she would have to somehow contact him. In the bathroom there was a huge pile of clothes in the corner. Yuffie wasn't much for charity, but in the mirror she noticed how transparent her white shirt had become, and gave in by putting on some black capris with a red tank.

When doing this, she was rudely reminded of the wound on her head as the shirt brushed it. A seering pain made her sight fade to red for a moment, and she stumbled around, cluthing the doorhandle. When the sensation had passed, Yuffie was more than a bit worried. It hadn't seemed that urgent that she get the cut treated before now.

She washed her hands, and then ripped the botttom of her old shirt, wrapping it around her head. It was painful at first, but it kept her head from pounding. She then hurridly slipped her flip-flops back on. Yuffie wished she had packed some better shoes. It was going to be hard getting around a wet Midgar in the ones she was wearing.

Suddenly, a dark feeling of foreboding passed over the ninja. Everything seemed to grow quiet, save for the soft dripping of the sink, which she promptly turned off. Grasping the door handle, she turned it slowly and silently. Yuffie peeked around the doorframe, nothing seemed to be wrong, but the feeling was still there, and by now she knew not to ignore her feelings.

She stepped out into the hallway, softly closing the door behind her. The floor creaked. She hadn't noticed it before, but in this silence it seemed to echo out like a siren. Her heart thumped faster as she entered the kitchen. She gasped at what her eyes met on the floor.

The old woman was sprawled out, her hands outreached on the floor. Her face was covered in the crimson liquid that her body was resting in. Several wounds pocked her back. A knife apparantly. Her eyes lay open and empty, and her mouth was also open, only it was in a way that showed her shock and terror. Yuffie clutched the kitchen cabinet. She knew this was her fault. She knew this was a warning that those men were still after her, and they weren't going to leave any time soon.

She felt like her soft little quiet world had now vanished. The world that she had lived for a year, had gone down the drain with this woman she didn't even know, an innocent bystander, being killed. She glared at nothing in particular. It was like being in the past again, having to fight fiend after fiend, monster after monster. Only these people weren't monsters, they were demons. They could kill silently, swiftly, and do it without remorse to people they didn't even know. It was at that moment Yuffie knew, she had to warn the others, and she had to make sure those men didn't follow her.

Yuffie shivered as the wind and rain battered her poor bare arms. She couldn't get the image of that old woman out of her head. She truely didn't know where she was going, she just wanted to get away from that house so she could breathe again. Indeed, Yuffie's breath had seemed to be caught in her chest since she stumbled upon that scene. She had left almost immediatly, leaving no trace that she had ever even been there. It was better that way. Midgar's police still weren't really up on there feet, but they could figure a few obvious things out.

Everytime Yuffie passed someone in the street, she dodged into some dark corner or in any uninhapibited place. She felt that every person she walked past was in danger of being gunned down or stabbed. It was a horrid thought, one that couldn't escape her mind even though she knew it was insane to think that they would kill anyone in public. For the longest time she wandered aimlessly around, until night fell at it's darkest and the streets were silent save for her own footfalls and the occasional sound of someone taking the trash out.

When Yuffie made it to the train station, she knew none of them would be running at this hour. Still, it was nice to get out of the rain that had softly started drizzling again. She sat down on another bench beneath a small outrcropping roof. Pulling her knees to her chest, she felt utterly exhausted but couldn't bring herself to sleep. She wanted desperatly to go back to her apartment, to crawl into her bed and just try and forget about everything. It was a selfish wish, she knew, but it was there all the same.

When the noises of the early train woke her, she jumped up with a start. The sun blinded her for a moment, and she had to rub her eyes desperatly to get rid of the glare. Some people were looking at her like she was a madwoman, but Yuffie ignored them and walked straight over to the ticket booth. When the pass was bought, she hopped on the train and grabbed one of the bars. She didn't feel like sitting down, she was too stiff from her wonderful "new" bed. The train was headed for Sector 7. It was there that Yuffie would start her search. She hoped someone would still be in Midgar, someone who knew the wearabouts of her lost friends.

Friends. That word almost sounded foriegn. She hadn't intended to become friends with those people, but she had nevertheless. It was hard not to become attached to "Always joking Cloud," and,"Constantly cursing Cid." She had even grown curious of Vincent and Red, despite her instincts to stay out of things.

Her thoughts were inturrupted quite sudenly when her stomach growled. It wasn't a quiet one either, it was one of those noises that make you feel like everyone turns around and looks at you. Yuffie smiled sheepishly and bent slightly to try and make the noises pass more silently. She felt the hunger hit now. One thing Yuffie couldn't go without was food. She rubbed her foot on the ground, trying not to think about it. Of course, it didn't work. The train pulled to a stop.

Sector 7 had changed drastically. It was one of the places in Midgar that had got a full makeover. Stores lined the streets, along with office buildings and apartments. A few homeless people still wandered however, hopeful for a few gil to help them last a bit longer. Yuffie jogged down the sidewalk until she came to a small bar. She slipped inside and walked up to the counter. The bartender didn't notice her at first, but soon turned around. She gave him her order, this bar sold breakfast in the mornings, and then he sauntered off, occasionally looking over his shoulder at her.

Yuffie tapped her finger on the bartop, and glanced around the table. She hoped to see someone she knew, anyone, but this was a whole different place, far way from her sector. The bartender came back with her food, and sat it down in front of her. She began to eat it greedily. He stared at her. Yuffie looked up at him, wondering what his problem was. When he stayed there, she _asked_ him what his problem was. He shook his head.

"Is your name Yuffie Kisaragi?" he asked.

Yuffie looked around the room again. "Yes," she said uncertainly.

"Someone was in here earlier looking for you. Told me to look out for you. He seemed kinda worried. Are you alright, miss?"

Yuffie figured it was probably Reno, and then relaxed. She decided to ask anyways, just to be sure. "Who was looking for me?"

"Reno, he's an old friend of mine. I'm sure you know him if he was looking for you," the bartender said, pulling out a cloth and wiping the table. Yuffie nodded. "What should I tell him if he comes back?"

This was hard. Yuffie wanted Reno to know she was okay, but she didn't want him to get mixed up in all of this. "Just tell him I...Just tell him you never saw me. Please, it's really important that you lie," Yuffie pleaded. The bartender set his elbows down and leaned in close to her. "I'll hold out for you," he said kindly,"I hope whatever's wrong will get better for you Miss Kisaragi."

As soon as those words had slipped from the bartenders mouth, Yuffie froze in fear, and looked up at him. The bartender had a strange smile as he began to clean the tables again. Yuffie jumped out of her seat and ran out the door. She knew that man was Rayce. As she sprinted down the street, she began to think about how many times she had ran in the last few days. It made her angry, before this she would have never backed out of a fight. "Next time I'll be ready," Yuffie muttered aloud, turning down the street. Right up ahead was the notorious Midgar "Weapons Store."

She walked inside, the small bell ringing on the door. At the counter was a man in his forties. He was tracing his beard with his fingetips. Yuffie walked up to him. "Well hello there miss, what can I do for you?" Yuffie pointed at a a long bladed weapon hanging on the wall behind him. The man smiled, pulling it down for her. "You like ninja stuff eh?" He sat it on the counter for her. Yuffie picked it up and balanced it on her shoulder. The quality was poor, it didn't even sit right, but she really needed a weapon. "That's awful big for you," the shopkeeper said, mistaking her dissapointed look for strain. "Maybe these will be better?" He handed her two knives, each about a foot long.

Yuffie put the other weapon down and took the knives in her hands. They were of much better quality, she could tell even though she had never fooled around with knives much. "Note the materia slots. You just don't see that anymore," he said, pointind at them.

"I'm not a collector," she said,"I'm a fighter. I'm here to buy something for real." The old man looked at her, and then began to laugh.

"A little girl like you, hahahaha! Oh my, well, as long as you're willing to buy, I'm willing to sell. and even though I don't believe you about the fighting stuff, you do seem to know your weapons. Take these knives then," he scoffed, handing her knives identical to the last pair. Yuffie put the others down, and picked up the real ones. There were a few obvious differences. The blade was much sharper on these, and the knives themselves were heavier. They weren't built for beauty, they didn't have fake materia slots like the others. Yuffie flipped them up, and twirled them on her fingers a bit.

"I think I'll take them," she said, digging in her pocket for gil. The man clapped his hands and began to type stuff in the cash register. "Oh, and add that backpack over there, will you?" Yuffie comanded, gesturing to a small knapsack. The Shopkeeper nodded, and took the knives, wrapping them in paper. He reached over and got the pack off the shelf.

"I assume you want these in here," he said, stuffing the knives in the pack.

"Yes."

"Well, here you go then little ninja." He handed the bag to her. Yuffie wondered if she should beat his face in for that comment, but instead she silently took the bag and slipped it over her back.

As she walked out of the store and down the street, she truly realized how big Midgar really was. That even made her realize how big the world was, and how it was going to be almost impossible to find the members of AVALANCHE. But the image of the old lady sprawled upon the floor flashed in her mind again, and she carried on, ignoring the water that was seeping into her tabi socks. This time she wasn't going to run. This time she had a weapon on her side. And as she walked down the street, and saw another shop up ahead, she felt she had found a lead to where one of the members of AVALANCHE was now.


End file.
